The Nature of Prejudice

1. Book Details

• Title: The Nature of Prejudice
• Author: Gordon Willard Allport
• City and year of publication: Cambridge, 1954
• Genre: Non-fiction
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley

2. Presentation

With the aim to explain how prejudices born and the complexity of human and group relations, the American psychologist Gordon Willard Allport, wrote one of his most important pieces: the nature of prejudice.

Allport was born on the 11^th November, 1887, in Montezuma, Indiana. He graduated from Harvard University, where he came back as psychology professor in 1924. His researches on personality have contributed to the establishment of personality as new phycology branch of study. He also promoted the development of social psychology branch, in particular by the development of the direct contact theory which explained intergroups relations and how it is possible to improve it by some specific direct intergroup contacts.

Before analysing Allport’s book, it is important to underline the context in wich the American psychologist lived and wrote his book. As said before, the book was first published in 1954, some year after the second world war, in the midst of the cold war and just before the beginning of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the USA. During this year, the U.S. had to face a difficult social context made of discrimination, segregation, racism, violence, and prejudices; Allport researches and works are inscribed in this peculiar social context, that is at the origin of his book. It also explains why Allport decided to focus his attention on the relations between afro-descendant American and non-afro-descendant American and the role that Jews played in history as “scapegoat”.

3. Summary

The nature of prejudice is constituted of eight parts.

First part “Preferential thinking” (chapters 1 to 5) sets the frame of Allport’s explanation. In particular, the psychologist explains: (a) what is a prejudice and which metal path brings to its creation; (b) the existing separatism in human society and the consequent group formation process; (c) how groups tend to remain closed in on themselves and reject other groups (out-groups); (d) how prejudice generalises.

Second and third parts “group differences” and “Perceiving and thinking about group differences” (chapters 6 to 13) give a theoretical frame about the perception of groups differences and on the social mechanism resulting from it. In particular Part III focus on the cognitive, affective and behavioural mechanism which brings to separatism between groups and, so, to prejudice.

Fourth part “Sociocultural factors” (chapters 14 to 16) explore the factors who brings affect intergroups relations and present the direct contact theory. It shows how it is possible to improve intergroups relations by some kind of direct interactions between in-group and out-group members.

Fifth, sixth and seventh parts “Acquiring prejudice”, “The dynamics of prejudice” and “character structure” (chapters 17 to 28) deepen the process of acquiring prejudice, and explain cognitive, affective and behavioural effects of prejudices.

The last part “Reducing group tensions” (chapters 29 to 31) focus on how it is possible to reduce intergroup conflicts by specific laws, programs and therapies.

4. Analysis and personal comment

As said before, this book is a non-fiction genre one, the author utilised an explanatory style and a simple lexical register, in order to attend a wide public. The reader should be aware that the book has been written in 1954, some lexical choice can result inappropriate in nowadays, but they should be put in the context in which Allport wrote.

The nature of prejudice, as indicated from the title, it is a psycho-social travel in human mind and social dynamics, that explain, in a clear but still authoritative way, how differences between humans and social and group dynamics brings to the creation of prejudice and, as consequences, intergroups conflicts.

Even if the subject treated in this book is a sensitive topic, Allport managed to trait and explain it in a very comprehensible way, with the objectivity typical of a scholar. All the concepts are well explained and, most of the time, accompanied with field works, data and examples in order to help comprehension.

The book helps the reader to develop a critical point of view about reality and intergroups relations. More, it helps him/her to deconstruct prejudices and received and socially constructed idea about others and, in particular, about minoritized groups. Even if it has been written almost seventy years ago, this book remains relevant and current, especially in the current European socio-political context, in which far-right is tacking over and xenophobia is spreading.